BOSTON — Apparel retailer Everlane has signed a 2,300-square-foot retail lease in Boston’s Seaport District. Originally launched in November 2011 as an exclusively online retailer, Everlane will open its sixth brick-and-mortar location at 125 Seaport Boulevard in Spring 2020. The brand markets itself as a transparent and ethically sourced apparel retailer. WS Development is the developer of 125 Seaport Boulevard
DALLAS AND NEWTON, MASS. — Spirit Realty Capital Inc. (NYSE: SRC), a net-lease REIT based in Dallas, has purchased a national single-tenant retail portfolio for $435 million. The portfolio’s seller is Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ: SVC), a net-lease retail and lodging REIT based in the western Boston suburb of Newton. The portfolio spans 26 states and includes 123 stores leased to 54 different concepts. About a third of the portfolio is leased to restaurants, including Wendy’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, KFC, Skyline Chili, Burger King, Rally’s and Popeye’s. The portfolio’s tenant roster also includes service-oriented and furniture concepts such as LA Fitness, Ashley Home Store, O’Reilly Auto Parts, At Home, Mister Car Wash, Carmax, Crunch Fitness and Tire Warehouse. This transaction is part of SVC’s disposition strategy to sell up to $500 million of net lease assets in connection with its $2.4 billion acquisition of retail properties from Spirit MTA REIT, which Spirit Realty Capital manages. “Coupled with our other recent net lease sales and agreements to sell totaling $66 million, we have reached our target of $500 million in net lease asset sales, the proceeds of which will be used to reduce the company’s leverage,” says John Murray, president and …
NEWTON, MASS. — Austin Street Partners, a joint venture between Oaktree Development and Dinosaur Capital Partners, has completed 28 Austin, a 68-unit multifamily development with 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in Newton, a western suburb of Boston. Resident amenities include a fitness room, dog park, resident lounge and rooftop seating with a fire pit. Residents have already moved in. Caffé Nero, a bakery and café, is expected to open in early 2020.
BOSTON — Pennrose Development and LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. have unveiled plans to convert William Barton Rogers Middle School in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood into a 74-unit, LGBTQ-supported affordable seniors housing community. The $33 million project will transform the existing structure into a residential building with 74 units of income-restricted rental units. Tenants must be at least age 62, and the community will be specifically welcoming to seniors who identify as LGBTQ, according to the developers. The original school was built in 1899 on 74,000 square feet of land and closed in June 2015. Boston-based architecture firm DiMella Shaffer designed the project. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
With older, pure-play retail space being repurposed into mixed-use developments and e-commerce-resistant users growing their regional footprints, the Boston retail market is evolving in lockstep with that of the United States. At the same time, new, trendy retailers and restaurant concepts are vying to get their feet in Boston’s door, drawn to the market’s healthy fundamentals and above-average levels of disposable household incomes. The net result of all this activity is a revitalized retail landscape that is defined by rapid absorption and rent growth within quality existing spaces, the repurposing of older spaces into different uses and the rise of mixed-use developments as backdrops for new supply additions. According to World Population Review, Boston, a city spanning some 100 square miles, is the fourth-most densely populated metro area in the country. Fueled by a vibrant education scene that includes more than 20 colleges and universities, as well as the addition of 25,000 new jobs in 2019, the population is growing. These geographic and demographic fundamentals have all but ensured that demand for retail space in Boston is perpetually strong, even during economic downtimes. According Marcus & Millichap, the city proper’s retail vacancy rate currently sits at 3.3 percent, though it …
BOSTON — A partnership between Olshan Properties, CV Properties and Harbinger Development is underway on construction of a 212-room Canopy by Hilton hotel in downtown Boston. The $125 million hotel will be located across from the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway parks near the city’s Haymarket and North End Districts and will add 12,711 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space to the local supply. Olshan Properties will manage the hotel, which is slated for delivery by mid-2021.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Berkadia has arranged a $49.7 million acquisition loan for Riverbend on the Charles, a 170-unit multifamily community in Watertown, a western suburb of Boston. PNC Bank provided the seven-year, fixed-rate loan. Built in 2014, Riverbend on the Charles offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units with amenities including a clubhouse with a billiards room, a bike storage room, heated pool, fitness center, storage units and a dog park. Charles Foschini and Christopher Apone of Berkadia arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Harbor Group International.
With a large influx of some of the world’s best and brightest residents, Boston has evolved from a regional powerhouse into one of the world’s foremost innovative cities in less than 10 years. Boston is both the second-oldest and the third-densest major city in the United States, and since its founding 389 years ago, the city has experienced super-charged growth, urbanizing faster than almost all its peers. Because of that unprecedented growth, undeveloped parcels in desirable areas across the city are scarce, and developers are being forced to use creative ways to build through urban infill, reclamation and placemaking. Seaport: A New Hotbed The Seaport has become Boston’s designated area for office market growth. The Fallon Company, WS Development, Skanska, Tishman Speyer and Pembroke have all made their marks in this neighborhood by transforming surface parking lots into gleaming towers filled with office workers, residents and retailers. Companies like Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Foundations Medicine, Goodwin, PTC, PwC, Reebok, State Street and Vertex have responded by moving significant operations to this highly dynamic neighborhood. Not surprisingly, when Gillette decided to put 6.5 acres of excess waterfront land on the market, developers recognized the opportunity and responded accordingly. Related Beal purchased the site …
ANDOVER, MASS. — Condyne, a Massachusetts-based developer, has sold 160 Dascomb Road, a 125,609-square-foot research facility in Andover, located approximately 20 miles north of Boston, for $26.2 million. The facility was 100 percent leased to Lockheed Martin and data and security company Accu-Tech at the time of sale. Boston Private Bank provided $17.2 million in acquisition financing. Coleman Benedict, Matthew Sherry, Kerry Hawkins, Ben Sayles and Michael Restivo of JLL represented Condyne in the transaction. An affiliate of Northbridge Partners was the buyer.
BOSTON — Hawkins Way Capital has acquired the historic 143-room Copley Square Hotel in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. Built in 1891, the Copley Square Hotel is situated within close proximity of Newbury Street retail and culture center, several colleges and universities, Fenway Park and the Prudential Center. Amenities include 1,500 square feet of meeting and event space, a 24-hour fitness center, a lower-level nightclub and 11,800 square feet of retail space — including 2,800 square feet of vacant ground-floor retail. Denny Meikleham, Alan Suzuki and Matt Enright of JLL represented the seller, insurance service company Barings LLC, in the transaction.